Database Develop

How to root Xperia XZ1 Compact ?

Hello everyone I open this discussion to discuss together on a possible way to root the device.
Since I'm new to Sony I've heard a lot of different things about the root method, so that's why I prefer to gather here to avoid believing anything and everything on the internet.
Thanks you

Is root a taboo on this phone ?
I can't seem to find any clear information on wether it's rootable or not.
I don't care about DRM or stuff, I just want my stock ROM rooted, would KingRoot do the job ?

JackyJacks said:
Is root a taboo on this phone ?
I can't seem to find any clear information on wether it's rootable or not.
I don't care about DRM or stuff, I just want my stock ROM rooted, would KingRoot do the job ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a hack under development by sToRm// for our XZ1 compacts. It's working for XZP's.
You don't want to use kingroot, your IMEI number will be cloned as well as malware being installed in your phone.
The DRM stuff, no camera is not an option for most phone users, so I would urge you to care about it a little.
There is the AOSP project launched by Sony, but it does require some development skills to get it set up and it's not bug free.
I think there will be a root process within the next few weeks, keep looking here on the forum.

JackyJacks said:
Is root a taboo on this phone ?
I can't seem to find any clear information on wether it's rootable or not.
I don't care about DRM or stuff, I just want my stock ROM rooted, would KingRoot do the job ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a taboo subject, it just isn't possible, at the moment, to "just get root".
In order to get root, you must also have an unlocked bootloader.
Sony has a developer's program, under which, you can submit your IMEI and they will email you a code you can use to unlock your bootloader.
Once you do that, the following things will happen:
- Your camera will stop working.
- Other Sony "DRM" enabled functions will stop working.
- Your warranty will be void.
- You can never "re-lock" the bootloader and go back to an un-modified state.
- You can install whatever boot and system modifications you like, including root (so long as you disable RIC and dm-verity).
I blame Sony for confusion regarding the term "root" among those who own Sony phones.
Sometimes they use it to refer to super-user permissions, and sometimes they use it to refer to the bootloader lock state.
That has led most people here in the Sony forums to use the term ambiguously and interchangeably as well.
So if you only want super-user level permissions, then there is no way to do that.
If you want to unlock your bootloader, then there's no secret at all. Just go to Sony's open devices site.

JackyJacks said:
Is root a taboo on this phone ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's more a matter of the "consequences" of rooting Xperias.
Sony lets you unlock the bootloader (unless you got your phone from a locked down source), so in theory you can flash any ROM you like with whatever root solution you prefer.
So what's stopping people from just unlocking the bootloader? See, Sony decided that it was a brilliant idea to bind some of their assets to DRM keys.
The kicker is, unlocking the bootloader wipes those precious DRM keys, which means you lose certain functionalities.
Unfortunately, there's no way to unlock without permanently losing those keys. Furthermore, those keys are unique to each device, so you can't just use someone else's without bricking your phone.
Now, it wasn't as big of a deal for pre-2017 Xperias, because the features you lose are relatively non-essential.
For example, X-Reality, which supposedly enhances the image in specific Sony apps, is nice to have but does not affect functionality, so not that important relatively speaking.
The biggest loss is Sony's advanced low light noise reduction algorithms for the camera, it makes a very noticeable difference in picture quality. But you'd still be able to use the camera normally otherwise.
For many people, the trade-off is worth it; the benefits of having root far outweighs the ability to take less ****ty pictures in places with ****ty lighting or enhancing the pores on your selfie.
It also helps that people eventually found exploits in earlier Android versions that makes it possible to backup those DRM keys and restore them.
However, for most of the phones released this year (models starting with designation G), Sony figured it has had enough of its customers enjoying their phones.
In a display of the traditional roots of Sony-style hyper obsession with DRMing and locking down the hell out of their stuff, now when you unlock the bootloader, the camera simply stops working.
Well, not entirely - the camera app launches as usual, and you can still see the live view on screen, tap to focus and change settings and all that.
But no matter what you do, it will only take one type of photo, a canvas of pure, solid green. It's effectively broken.
Obviously, that **** move causes hesitation with people interested in rooting their phones. They'd want their cameras to at least be able to take pictures.
Currently, aside from building and flashing Sony's AOSP ROM yourself, or a handful of third-party camera apps, or developing your own solution, there's simply no way of restoring the camera function after the bootloader has been unlocked.
Lots of people just want root on top of the stock firmware, but it's not possible without breaking the camera.
So in conclusion, no, it's not a taboo, rooting is just ridiculously undesirable for now given the conditions.

This is total BS. I might cancel my Amazon order and go with a non-Sony phone now. Maybe the Galaxy S8. I was very excited about the XZ1c.

Didgesteve said:
There is a hack under development by sToRm// for our XZ1 compacts. It's working for XZP's.
You don't want to use kingroot, your IMEI number will be cloned as well as malware being installed in your phone.
The DRM stuff, no camera is not an option for most phone users, so I would urge you to care about it a little.
There is the AOSP project launched by Sony, but it does require some development skills to get it set up and it's not bug free.
I think there will be a root process within the next few weeks, keep looking here on the forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the details.
I did not know camera was impacted by DRM, I thought this was only streaming apps like spotify or netflix...
I'll wait patiently then

JackyJacks said:
I did not know camera was impacted by DRM, I thought this was only streaming apps like spotify or netflix...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that kind of DRM. Ironically, those will work with an unlocked bootloader assuming you're using them as intended.

display brightness

Greetings,
Just received a used device and noticed my unit won't physically lower in brightness at around 25 percent. What I mean is that at around the 25 percent mark, I am unable to perceive it getting any lower when set at a lower percentage. I've also noticed that when I have the brightness at a high percentage and then quickly lower it to the minimum, that the display will at first be quite dim then will suddenly raise itself to a slightly brighter minimum. I do not have auto brightness on, nor any filter apps active while testing. Just wondering if this issue is isolated to my device. Thank you for reading my concern. If anything is unclear, I could try taking a video of the issues. Anyone else with these issues? I've searched the web to no avail.

i just bought a used device as well and mine has the same issues. the backlight seems to flicker on the second screen at low brightness and below about half the second screen is noticably dimmer. its unfortunate that they didn't put a lot of effort into the screen software or quality considering its the main gimmick of this phone, but it is made by ZTE after all. the price you probably paid for one of these things is a lot more representative of the quality than the original MSRP. But its still a fun gimmick even with all the flaws.

stevegalaxius said:
i just bought a used device as well and mine has the same issues. the backlight seems to flicker on the second screen at low brightness and below about half the second screen is noticably dimmer. its unfortunate that they didn't put a lot of effort into the screen software or quality considering its the main gimmick of this phone, but it is made by ZTE after all. the price you probably paid for one of these things is a lot more representative of the quality than the original MSRP. But its still a fun gimmick even with all the flaws.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your thoughts and input. Yeah this is quite unfortunate on how the phone turned out. I also see the flicker on the second display. But as you mentioned, the device is indeed quite fun. I'm actually thoroughly enjoying the device especially with books and comics reading in the extended mode. I tend to do some late night reading, so that was the reason why I brought up the display issue as I had wanted to get the display as dim as possible before applying a filter. Hopefully one day we'll get root to check out if we can lower the display minimum brightness level along with other lower level system modifications.

axxtran said:
Thanks for your thoughts and input. Yeah this is quite unfortunate on how the phone turned out. I also see the flicker on the second display. But as you mentioned, the device is indeed quite fun. I'm actually thoroughly enjoying the device especially with books and comics reading in the extended mode. I tend to do some late night reading, so that was the reason why I brought up the display issue as I had wanted to get the display as dim as possible before applying a filter. Hopefully one day we'll get root to check out if we can lower the display minimum brightness level along with other lower level system modifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
apparently a few weeks ago someone released TWRP for this device. its not quite a root but it still gives you root access to change the build.prop and some low level system settings. TWRP is the sign that there is some kind of development happening but i wouldn't hedge your bets on anybody fixing the screen issues even with some kind of kernel modification

stevegalaxius said:
apparently a few weeks ago someone released TWRP for this device. its not quite a root but it still gives you root access to change the build.prop and some low level system settings. TWRP is the sign that there is some kind of development happening but i wouldn't hedge your bets on anybody fixing the screen issues even with some kind of kernel modification
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is definitely a most welcome update. I'm curious on what build your device is on since you mentioned having similar issues to mine. I am on b30 myself and will be flashing to b37 when I get a chance to see if there are any differences.

Wanting to switch from OP7P to Pixel 5 - some questions

Hello people,
the last OnePlus OS update disaster was the cherry on the s***cake I call OxygenOS. After years of microphone, display and sensor issues I want to go back to the only brand where I had almost 0 issues: Pixel.
Since I am still very wary I have a few questions for people who had the possibility to use the phone for a while.
1. Are there working TWRP and root methods out there? How about the backup and restore of nandroid in TWRP? Does it work flawlessly?
2. How fast ist the camera? I remember on my Pixel 2 that you could take the phone out, take a shot and put it away. The image will be sharp and clear in 95% of the cases. In other phones I had to stay still for about 1-2 seconds out of fear the image will be blurry or smeared.
3. Does Google still provide OTA .zips and tools to flash, unlock and recover custom roms and images?
4. Is the adaptive brightness on point? OP7 always needs an ever so slightly readjustmet which makes it kind of pointless.
5. Does the microphone in whatsapp voice messages work flawless?
6. Would it be possible to migrate my data partition from OP7P to Pixel 5 without issues? I have 2 authenticator apps that I have a backup for but can't restore on my OP7P without bootloop... (see intro text).
Thank you!

1. I think TWRP was just released but I don't think it's very functional. you can go to that thread to get more information since I don't use it myself.
2. This could be just me but the camera viewfinder will definitely freeze for a few seconds before I can start taking a picture. And because of the mid-range processor, it does take a few seconds for the image to process. However I think this is done after the picture is taken so you should be okay taking a picture and then turning the screen off - since it seems to process the image in the background afterwards.
3. If you do a Google search for Google factory images you'll see there are zips you can download, both full fastboot zips and OTA zips. I normally Flash the OTA zip through stock recovery via adb sideload.
4. The adaptive brightness definitely does favour going dim more than it needs to. I'm guessing this could be fixed in a potential future software update though.
5. I don't use WhatsApp so not too sure about this one
6. Not too sure what you mean exactly by migrating but I personally use the app called Swift Backup to backup and restore my apps. And then I just manually drag and drop my internal storage to my computer as a backup.

anphex said:
Hello people,
the last OnePlus OS update disaster was the cherry on the s***cake I call OxygenOS. After years of microphone, display and sensor issues I want to go back to the only brand where I had almost 0 issues: Pixel.
Since I am still very wary I have a few questions for people who had the possibility to use the phone for a while.
1. Are there working TWRP and root methods out there? How about the backup and restore of nandroid in TWRP? Does it work flawlessly?
2. How fast ist the camera? I remember on my Pixel 2 that you could take the phone out, take a shot and put it away. The image will be sharp and clear in 95% of the cases. In other phones I had to stay still for about 1-2 seconds out of fear the image will be blurry or smeared.
3. Does Google still provide OTA .zips and tools to flash, unlock and recover custom roms and images?
4. Is the adaptive brightness on point? OP7 always needs an ever so slightly readjustmet which makes it kind of pointless.
5. Does the microphone in whatsapp voice messages work flawless?
6. Would it be possible to migrate my data partition from OP7P to Pixel 5 without issues? I have 2 authenticator apps that I have a backup for but can't restore on my OP7P without bootloop... (see intro text).
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently root works fine. There is no function TWRP yet, at least last I looked, but things are fine without it. But more volatile but once things are set up right you're golden. I moved from a OP7P to a P5, as well, so I'll give you the run down.
Biggest, biggest gripe: vibration motor. It's pretty ****ty. Not like, oh god, get this out of my hand ****ty, but the OP7P's vibrator was much, much better. Phone speaker quality is much worse, as well, but for how small the p5 is, and the fact that it has no earpiece speaker, it makes quite a decent effort. Snappines; the op7p was so fast that double pressing the power button from screen off to pull up the camera will actually unlock and relock your screen before it even registers you double clicked the power button, and apps would launch instantly. The P5 isn't quite *that* fast, but it IS nimble. Lower your expectations for snappines, though I do feel that, with the proper modifications to animations, to the kernel, to the os, it could be comparable. That's definitely something OP mastered, that snappines and responsiveness. I think what would really make a big difference in that snappines is just animation tuning. For example, I wish screen on and screen off animations just didn't exist, and instead it was instant. As it is now, currently, it's a quick fade. Small gripes though. Gravity box can solve a lot of complaints, too lol
But, the question remains, what do you gain?
You gain updates. You're now at the forefront of features. You don't know what you're missing until you have a Pixel. Battery Life? It's.. well, let's just say that the op7p sucks compared to the p5. I can easily get 9+ hours screen on time even with heavy, heavy usage, bluetooth on, location, nfc, tons of apps in the background. This phone WILL get you through the day, 100% guaranteed. You get wireless charging, too, which is awesome. Charging is nimble but not dash-charge fast. You get a phone that you can use in one hand.
Overall, will it be for everyone? No. But, I can say with confidence, I'm not looking back. I have my complaints, one of the biggest being that Google Assistant just isn't reliable for me on my p5 compared to how it was on my oneplus, and also that the ding it makes when I use the hotword is just kinda gone for some reason and I have no idea how to fix it.
But yeah, ramble over, there ya go.

Thank you for sharing your point of view!
The thing is, I got the OP7P as a gift when it released and I never got warm with its huge size. I never wanted a huge phone like this but coped with it because it was/is top of the line. But over the time those already stated minor issues started to arise and accumulate.
So basically I don't want to gain anything, I want to get rid of the surplus.
As long as doesn't have issues that bothes me every day or at least less than the OP7P, everything is fine.

anphex said:
Thank you for sharing your point of view!
The thing is, I got the OP7P as a gift when it released and I never got warm with its huge size. I never wanted a huge phone like this but coped with it because it was/is top of the line. But over the time those already stated minor issues started to arise and accumulate.
So basically I don't want to gain anything, I want to get rid of the surplus.
As long as doesn't have issues that bothes me every day or at least less than the OP7P, everything is fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll find it doesn't feel as premium in the hand, as well. The majority of the body is plastic, though it's a very high quality, biodegradable plastic called bio resin. It also can heat up during normal usage, but not to an uncomfortable level. Outside of usual android gripes here and there, there's really not much to complain about. It gets the job done, as a phone, really well. Camera is fantastic, and I tried to see just how quickly you can take a pic from it earlier and you likely won't be disappointed. You can snap a picture before the viewfinder even loads, so it's unlikely you'll run into any issue. It automatically enables night mode depending on the light, but you can disable that auto night mode from a button near the view finder, so that pics are taken instantly. Everything about the phone is like that - very intentional and miticulous design, while still remaining stock android. Not quite custom rom levels of customization, though. No custom OS colors, things like that. OP wins in customization, for sure, but again, you probably won't be disappointed.

Help disabling or finding another workaround for the recent apps screen due to its use in getting around productivity app blockers.

Hi,
I'm new to the forum, but I have a problem that seems too specific to be able to look for advice anywhere else. I have a Samsung S10 5g with Exynos SoC.
I have ADHD that can severely hamper my ability to do focused work when I can't eliminate distractions. Life has changed to the point that I can't get around without a smart phone (I couldn't log into my work account without using 2FA on a mobile app as the only option, for example), but I recently discovered that the paid version of BlockSite actually did quite a good job of locking down my phone with the option to unlock it by a password known only to my wife whenever that's needed.
That worked well for me for several months, and productivity soared as did the quality of my relationship. The problem is, the app has to be airtight. When ADHD brain pain sets in, nothing else matters to me more than breaking into my phone to mindlessly browse and ease the pain. And after a few months I was regularly spam tapping on apps on my recently viewed apps screen to try and force it to stay open. It fell apart completely when I accidentally opened split screen mode and realised that the BlockSite block screen only takes up half the screen. Since then, the app has been useless and I tend to browse in those difficult times as much as I ever used to.
It doesn't matter how I accomplish it, rooting or otherwise, but id like to find a way to completely disable recent apps functionality to bring BlockSite back to being functional for me.
I'm currently seeking treatment through other means, but it would be a huge help to me regardless if this were possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Question Should I get the Note 11?

I want to get the Note 11, but not sure if I should make the purchase or not. Hence, would be really grateful if owners could give me a review of the phone and their recommendation.
Moreover, I wanted to know if the phone has screen burnout issue, and if it has low earpiece volume problem. Most importantly, if it has network issues? Like if the network chip dies and the phone can not find any sim connection; and the only way to fix it is by changing hardware components. Any other problems the phone faces, would like to know them as well.
Thanking you in advance!

Renz1er said:
I want to get the Note 11, but not sure if I should make the purchase or not. Hence, would be really grateful if owners could give me a review of the phone and their recommendation.
Moreover, I wanted to know if the phone has screen burnout issue, and if it has low earpiece volume problem. Most importantly, if it has network issues? Like if the network chip dies and the phone can not find any sim connection; and the only way to fix it is by changing hardware components. Any other problems the phone faces, would like to know them as well.
Thanking you in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problems with RN11:
1. No recovery partition. Some ROMs install their own recovery despite this, but be prepared to always risk getting stuck in fastboot, if you mistakenly try to install or save one and it borks.
2. Mine has the FocalTech (fts) touchscreen, so it is possible any ROM could take away necessary screen usage. There is a known issue with missing drivers. Research this forum on that. (Note - The RN10P has a recovery partition and some (like mine) have a Goodix touchscreen. It has no A/B partitions like RN11. I recommend you research that here as well, why they created A/B partitions.)
Otherwise, no other complaints. Cannot comment on earpiece volume. No network issues.

daily use, sure.
for thinkering, buy another brand or models.

Sheist! said:
Problems with RN11:
1. No recovery partition. Some ROMs install their own recovery despite this, but be prepared to always risk getting stuck in fastboot, if you mistakenly try to install or save one and it borks.
2. Mine has the FocalTech (fts) touchscreen, so it is possible any ROM could take away necessary screen usage. There is a known issue with missing drivers. Research this forum on that. (Note - The RN10P has a recovery partition and some (like mine) have a Goodix touchscreen. It has no A/B partitions like RN11. I recommend you research that here as well, why they created A/B partitions.)
Otherwise, no other complaints. Cannot comment on earpiece volume. No network issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your reply.
I had few more questions, would be grateful if you could answer.
First off, if I don't install custom roms, then there won't be any issue with recovery partition and screen drivers right? Also, I plan on just installing the xiaomi.eu roms, would there be any issues?
Secondly, during calls, the earpiece volume is loud or audible enough right?
Thirdly, I saw some youtube videos and also few posts, showing how Note 11 suddenly stops detecting any cellular network and its a common issue, could you comment on that?
Lastly, could you give me few links where I could get a better idea regarding the recovery partition issue and A/B partition.
Thank you in advance.
maXDAmn said:
daily use, sure.
for thinkering, buy another brand or models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your reply.
Its for daily use, but do you have any other recommendations?

Renz1er said:
Thank you so much for your reply.
I had few more questions, would be grateful if you could answer.
First off, if I don't install custom roms, then there won't be any issue with recovery partition and screen drivers right? Also, I plan on just installing the xiaomi.eu roms, would there be any issues?
Secondly, during calls, the earpiece volume is loud or audible enough right?
Thirdly, I saw some youtube videos and also few posts, showing how Note 11 suddenly stops detecting any cellular network and its a common issue, could you comment on that?
Lastly, could you give me few links where I could get a better idea regarding the recovery partition issue and A/B partition.
Thank you in advance.
Thank you so much for your reply.
Its for daily use, but do you have any other recommendations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. The potentially-missing screen drivers are OUTSIDE of the stock MIUI ROM's. Astounding we have not seen these extracted somehow yet. Now, the stock recovery won't give you much power, though.
I don't use the earpiece, only the speakers.
No comment on fading network issues.
You are in the right forum for your research. I recommend checking the Lineage20 ROM post and the crDroid 9.1/9.2 ROM post for the posts about A/B. But, search the forum afterwards instead.

Renz1er said:
Thank you so much for your reply.
I had few more questions, would be grateful if you could answer.
First off, if I don't install custom roms, then there won't be any issue with recovery partition and screen drivers right? Also, I plan on just installing the xiaomi.eu roms, would there be any issues?
Secondly, during calls, the earpiece volume is loud or audible enough right?
Thirdly, I saw some youtube videos and also few posts, showing how Note 11 suddenly stops detecting any cellular network and its a common issue, could you comment on that?
Lastly, could you give me few links where I could get a better idea regarding the recovery partition issue and A/B partition.
Thank you in advance.
Thank you so much for your reply.
Its for daily use, but do you have any other recommendations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
before I buy this phone I really considering the Realme 10.

Really low quality CCDs, if you are into photos, it gives you trouble even if you want to scan something.
Google Assistant stopped working on stock roms.

As a Note 11 user. I will say you don't buy this phone. Even for daily usage. Ram management is poor in stock Rom. You can get some good performance if you install Crdroid. But fast charging won't work. So, I suggest you don't buy this model.

pulsar said:
As a Note 11 user. I will say you don't buy this phone. Even for daily usage. Ram management is poor in stock Rom. You can get some good performance if you install Crdroid. But fast charging won't work. So, I suggest you don't buy this model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fast charge works for me. I do not use custom kernels, and they are varied; - some do not enable fast charging. Using crDroid 9.2.

It's a good phone outside of the camera and GPU. If you're not into taking photos or gaming then go for it. Otherwise look elsewhere.

@Sheist! @maXDAmn @rel87 @pulsar @douteiful , thank you very much guys for your replies! Really appreciate it!
After taking your replies into consideration, and googling a bit, I figured the Note 11 might not be the phone I am looking for; hence, I might get something else.
AGAIN, Thank you very much guys!​